Love Letter
by HopefulNebula
Summary: Quite a while ago my sister and I tried to write a story involving Trip and T’Pol’s love letters to each other. It didn’t exactly work out but the idea stuck in my head.


Title: Love Letter

Author: HopefulNebula (hopefullynebulousyahoo.com)

Rating: PG

Summary: Quite a while ago my sister and I tried to write a story involving Trip and T'Pol's love letters to each other. It didn't exactly work out but the idea stuck in my head. This one's for you, Laura. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Enterprise. If I did, B&B wouldn't have left that little present for the fans at the end of Zero Hour.

Spoilers: E2, any episode where Trip even looks at another woman (minor)

A/N: Reviews are very, very, very good.

-----

The child looks incongruous at this moment. Any child who looks Vulcan in the least would look strange in such brightly colored, obviously _human_ pajamas. Of course, not many Vulcan children have blond hair and blue eyes, either.

The boy has asked his father about how a Vulcan and a Human could ever love one another as his parents do. After all, he knows his mother isn't supposed to feel anything as strong as love. The father takes his son up to the master bedroom and removes a slightly aged sheet of paper from the drawer in the bedside table. The handwriting is small and precise; the boy immediately recognizes it as his mother's.

"This should explain it better than I could. I've kept everything your mama ever gave me. Everything from crew reports to letters like this one." The father's eyes sparkle with pride as well as an oncoming story.

"Why is it written on paper?" the child wonders out loud.

"Some things that are very special are best put on paper. It's a lot more personal than a padd."

The boy raises a skeptical eyebrow but remains silent as his father reads.

-----

Trip,

Thank you for listening to me and for helping me as I could help you. I needed—I still need—someone in whom I can confide, and I am illogically pleased that you are that person. Your presence stirs something within me that I had never felt before. With you I can be open. I can feel at peace. You are far more to me than I had ever concieved you could become.

My elder counterpart suggested that I use you as an outlet for my emotions. I have never "used" you. Your nature is so magnanimous that you never fail to offer yourself. I regret, however, that I have not always been honest with you.

I _was_ jealous, for example. I envied Ah'Len, Lianna, Kaitaama, and Corporal Cole, though I was unable to recognize those feelings at the time.

-----

"Father, who are Ah'Len and the other people?" the boy asks, his pale forehead (so much like his grandfather's) wrinkling with thought. "And who is the 'elder counterpart' Mother mentions?"

"Well, Ah'Len and the others were women I knew for a while when we were serving on Enterprise. They were nice, and I liked them, but there's no way I could have felt as deeply for them as I do for your mom. And I'll tell you the other story when you're a little bit older, 'k, kiddo?"

The boy sighs. Because his parents used to work on a starship, they have quite a lot of "when-you're-older" stories. He nods, however, and lets his father continue.

-----

I further regret having misled you about the night we spent together. You are no experiment. What you felt from me that night was what you invariably elicit in me. Indeed, I would be dishonest if I said that I did not want to experience that connection again. I am willing to live with my emotions if I have you to share them.

-----

"That doesn't sound like something Mother would say."

"Even the best of us need help sometimes," the father replies to his son's comment. "We were both going through a very rough time—her more than me at that point—and she had never felt so vulnerable before. Remember when the windstorm blew off a section of the roof when you were little? She was as afraid of her feelings as you were of the loud noise."

The boy nods again—he thinks he understands.

-----

In the short time we have known each other, I have found that my strongest emotions center around you. At first all I felt for you was intense frustration. This soon developed into curiosity and wonder. Now I find that I would be incomplete without you. My counterpart told me to "follow my heart." It seems that my heart has led me to you.

Again, I am compelled to apologize for misleading you about our relationship. If you still feel the same way, then I hope we will be able to continue our relationship.

Your t'hy'la if you so desire,

T'Pol

-----

"So what happened then, Father?" the boy inquires. The worry which had been so evident on his face earlier has dissipated into a slightly more Vulcan expression.

"Well, I immediately got out my great-grandma's fountain pen and wrote her back, of course. I told her how much I feel for her and how silly she had been for thinking that I could ever stop loving her. And I made sure she knew that I forgave her for the mistakes she'd made." Seeing his son's expression, the man chuckles. "Yeah, even your mother makes mistakes sometimes. And after I looked up the word t'hy'la, I told her how proud I would be to be her beloved for then and forever. I walked over to her quarters with the letter and watched her read it. And the rest, as they say, is history."

"I am pleased that you both found the companionship you desired."

"Me too, kiddo. And I'm even more pleased that we could get you out of it. My life wouldn't be complete without you." The boy grins widely, in the brilliant toothy smile which he inherited from his father but uses less often now that he's learning about Vulcan culture. The father matches his son's expression and the two warmly embrace. "Oof. Soon you'll be too big for bear hugs. I'll just have to get them while I can. Have you brushed your teeth yet?"

"No, Dad."

"Then you'd better go do it. It's almost bedtime." The father hugs his son once more. "Good night, Lorian. I love you."


End file.
